Abraham went up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Yahweh.
Parallel Translations
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Abraham went up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before Yahweh.
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And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
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And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
Cross-references (5)
Passages linked to Genesis 19:27 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand at my watch, and set myself on the ramparts, and will look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
- Psalms 5:3 Yahweh, in the morning you will hear my voice. In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.
- Genesis 18:22-33 The men turned from there, and went toward Sodom, but Abraham stood yet before Yahweh. Abraham came near, and said, “Will you consume the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous within the city? Will you consume and not spare the place for the fifty righteous who are in it? May it be far from you to do things like that, to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be like the wicked. May that be far from you. Shouldn’t the Judge of all the earth do right?” Yahweh said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place for their sake.” Abraham answered, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord, although I am dust and ashes. What if there will lack five of the fifty righteous? Will you destroy all the city for lack of five?” He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.” He spoke to him yet again, and said, “What if there are forty found there?” He said, “I will not do it for the forty’s sake.” He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak. What if there are thirty found there?” He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” He said, “See now, I have taken it on myself to speak to the Lord. What if there are twenty found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the twenty’s sake.” He said, “Oh don’t let the Lord be angry, and I will speak just once more. What if ten are found there?” He said, “I will not destroy it for the ten’s sake.” Yahweh went his way, as soon as he had finished communing with Abraham, and Abraham returned to his place.
- Ezekiel 16:49-50 “ ‘ “Behold, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: pride, fullness of bread, and prosperous ease was in her and in her daughters. She also didn’t strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. They were arrogant, and committed abomination before me. Therefore I took them away when I saw it.
- Hebrews 2:1 Therefore we ought to pay greater attention to the things that were heard, lest perhaps we drift away.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 27. And Abraham got up early in the morning.…
27. And Abraham got up early in the morning. Moses now reverts to Abraham, and shows that he, by no means, neglected what he had heard from the mouth of the angel; for he relates that Abraham came to a place where he might see the judgment of God. For we must not suspect that (as we have lately said respecting Lot’s wife) he trusted more to his own eyes than to the word of God; and that he came to explore, because he was in doubt. But we rather infers from the text, that he, being already persuaded that the angel had not spoken in vain, sought confirmation, by the actual beholding of the event; which confirmation would be useful both to himself and to posterity. And it is not to be doubted, that during the whole night, he suffered severe anguish respecting the safety of his nephew Lot. Whether he became satisfied on this point or note we do not know; yet I rather incline to the conjecture, that he remained anxious about him. And it is possible that, hesitating between hope and fear, he went forward to meet him, in order that he might see whether he was delivered or not. And although he beholds nothing but the smoke, which generally remains after a great fire; yet this sign is given him from the Lord, for a testimony to posterity, of a punishment so memorable. God indeed designs, that, in the very appearance of the place, a monument of his wrath should exist for ever: but because, through the readiness of the world to cast a doubt upon the judgments of God, it might be easily believed, that such had been the nature of the place from the beginning; or that the change had occurred accidentally; the Lord was pleased to exhibit his act of vengeance before the eyes of Abraham, in order that he might discharge the office of a herald to posterity.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Gen 19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the…
Gen 19:27 And Abraham gat up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the LORD:
Ver. 27. And Abraham gat up.] So solicitous he was for Sodom, that, as Luther thinks, he could not sleep all night. Lot was delivered by his prayers, though Abraham knew it not.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain Our communion with God consists in our gracious regard…
Our communion with God consists in our gracious regard to him and his gracious regard to us; we have here therefore the communion that was between God and Abraham, in the event concerning Sodom, as before in the consultation concerning it, for communion with God is to be kept up in providences as well as in ordinances.
I. Here is Abraham's pious regard to God in this event, in two things: - 1. A careful expectation of the event, Gen 19:27. He got up early to look towards Sodom; and, to intimate that his design herein was to see what became of his prayers, he went to the very place where he had stood before the Lord, and set himself there, as upon his watch tower, Hab 2:1. Note, When we have prayed we must look after our prayers, and observe the success of them. We must direct our prayer as a letter, and then look up for an answer, direct our prayer as an arrow, and then look up to see whether it reach the mark, Psa 5:3. Our enquiries after news must be in expectation of an answer to our prayers. 2. An awful observation of it: He looked towards Sodom (Gen 19:28), not as Lot's wife did, tacitly reflecting upon the divine severity, but humbly adoring it and acquiescing in it. Thus the saints, when they see the smoke of Babylon's torment rising up for ever (like Sodom's here), will say again and again, Alleluia, Rev 19:3. Those that have, in the day of grace, most earnestly interceded for sinners, will, in the day of judgment, be content to see them perish, and will glorify God in their destruction.
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II. Here is God's favourable regard to Abraham, Gen 19:29. As before when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac, so now, when he prayed for Sodom, he heard him for Lot. He remembered Abraham, and, for his sake, sent Lot out of the overthrow. Note, 1. God will certainly give an answer of peace to the prayer of faith, in his own way and time; though, for a while, it seem to be forgotten, yet, sooner or later, it will appear to be remembered. 2. The relations and friends of godly people fare the better for their interest in God and intercessions with him; it was out of respect to Abraham that Lot was rescued: perhaps this word encouraged Moses long afterwards to pray (Exo 32:13), Lord, remember Abraham; and see Isa 63:11.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward…
And he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the plain,.... To see how it fared with them: very probably the Lord had hinted it to him, that the destruction would be that morning, and therefore he rose early, got to the place bearly, and being on an eminence, looked wistly to see if he could observe any sign of it:
and beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the country went up as the smoke of a furnace; after the fiery shower was over, and the cities burnt down, the smoke ascended toward heaven, as the smoke of mystical Babylon will do, Rev 19:3; like the reek of a boiling cauldron; or, as Jarchi, like the smoke of a lime kiln always burning.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain And Abraham gat up early - And to see…
And Abraham gat up early - And to see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place were he had stood before the Lord.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 27. Abraham gat up early in the morning]…
Verse 27. Abraham gat up early in the morning] Anxious to know what was the effect of the prayers which he had offered to God the preceding day; what must have been his astonishment when he found that all these cities, with the plain which resembled the garden of the Lord, Ge 13:10, burnt up, and the smoke ascending like the smoke of a furnace, and was thereby assured that even God himself could not discover ten righteous persons in four whole cities!
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Gen 19:27-29. And Abraham gat up early — To…
Gen 19:27-29. And Abraham gat up early — To see what was become of his prayers, he went to the very place where he had stood before the Lord. And he looked toward Sodom — Not as Lot’s wife did, tacitly reflecting upon the divine severity, but humbly adoring it, and acquiescing in it. Here is God’s favourable regard to Abraham. As before, when Abraham prayed for Ishmael, God heard him for Isaac; so now, when he prayed for Sodom, he heard him for Lot. God remembered Abraham, and for his sake sent Lot out of the overthrow — God will certainly give an answer of peace to the prayer of faith in his own way and time.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain Abraham gat up early in the morning, &c.--Abraham was…
Abraham gat up early in the morning, &c.--Abraham was at this time in Mamre, near Hebron, and a traveller last year verified the truth of this passage. "From the height which overlooks Hebron, where the patriarch stood, the observer at the present day has an extensive view spread out before him towards the Dead Sea. A cloud of smoke rising from the plain would be visible to a person at Hebron now, and could have been, therefore, to Abraham as he looked toward Sodom on the morning of its destruction by God" [HACKETT]. It must have been an awful sight, and is frequently alluded to in Scripture (Deu 29:23; Isa 13:19; Jde 1:7). "The plain which is now covered by the Salt or Dead Sea shows in the great difference of level between the bottoms of the northern and southern ends of the lake--the latter being thirteen feet and the former thirteen hundred--that the southern end was of recent formation, and submerged at the time of the fall of the cities" [LYNCH].
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 27. Early in the morning — Probably the morning…
27. Early in the morning — Probably the morning of the day of destruction is intended; the next day after his intercession. While Lot is entering Zoar, on the east of the plain, Abraham is gazing from the west upon the smoking gorge between them. They are now separated by a great gulf, and come no more together.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 27. gat up early] No emphasis is here laid…
27. gat up early] No emphasis is here laid in the Hebrew upon the earliness of the rise. The idiom amounts to saying “in the morning Abraham arose and went to the place.”
stood before the Lord] See Gen_18:12.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (27) Abraham gat up early in the morning.—This was…
(27) Abraham gat up early in the morning.—This was necessary, because he had a walk of some miles before he reached “the place where he stood before Jehovah” on the previous evening; and probably the mighty forces which overthrew the cities had been some hours at work when he reached the head of the ravine through which the terrible scene became visible. Naturally his anxiety to know the result of his intercession, and the fate of his brother’s son, would urge him to be on foot at the early dawn.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain And Abraham gat up early in the morning (of…
And Abraham gat up early in the morning (of the catastrophe) to the place (i.e. and went to the place) where he stood before the Lord. (vide on Gen_18:22)
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And Abraham got up early in the morning to…
Gen_19:27-29
And Abraham got up early in the morning to the place where he stood before the Lord: and he looked toward Sodom
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The righteous mans retrospect of Gods great judgments
I.
HE REGARDS THEM WITH SOLEMN EMOTION.
II. HE IS SATISFIED WITH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD AS SEEN IN THEM.
III. HE HAS SOME COMPENSATIONS IN REGARD TO THEM. Some were delivered. (T. H. Leale.)
Lessons
1. Praying souls are early up to observe Gods answer to their desires Psa_5:3).
2. Where souls have once met with God, well may they hasten to hear return of prayer from Him there again (verse 27).
3. Saints under Gods indulgence may be solicitous about the state of the wicked to look after them.
4. The righteous see sometimes vengeance executed upon the ungodly, notwithstanding all mediation made with God for them.
5. Where the smoke of sin hath offended Gods eyes, the smoke of vengeance shall arise there.
6. In the midst of pouring out fury on the wicked, God is mindful of the mediation of His saints.
7. One righteous soul may fare the better for the intercession of another. Lot for Abraham.
8. Righteous souls may put themselves in danger of destruction by sitting down among the wicked.
9. The righteous God in His execution spareth, and destroyeth not the righteous with the wicked.
10. Some spectacles of mercy God hath made in snatching them from the midst of His overthrow, as brands out of the burning, as well as He hath made others examples of His vengeance (verse 29). (G. Hughes, B. D.)
The smoke of their torments
Early in the morning Abraham sought that favoured spot where but yesterday God had been pleased to manifest Himself, and where he had been favoured with a season of extraordinary communion. Whither should the believer go, but to that choice place, dear to his heart, where he has communed with the Lord? It is a high privilege, the highest which mortals can enjoy, to talk with God, to plead with Him, to use arguments, and to prevail. Such grace had Abraham found. No marvel that he goes back to the place where God had thus drawn nigh to him. Doubtless one reason why he rose early, and went to the place, and looked towards Sodom, was an anxious desire to know how his prayers had speeded. It is remarkable that he does not appear to have observed the storm as it came down from heaven. Hence we may infer how rapid the destruction of the cities must have been. God rained fire out of heaven upon Sodom; it seems to have been done in a moment; the whole plain was destroyed; and all that Abraham saw after he rose up, which was probably just at the sun-rise, was merely the smoke that followed the conflagration. So does God drive His enemies away.
I. WITH WHAT EMOTIONS OUGHT WE TO GAZE UPON THE TORMENTS OF UNGODLY AND IMPENITENT SOULS?
1. Certainly it should always be with an humble submission to the Divine will. The assurance that God is just, even in the midst of His hot displeasure, must ever be cherished. The Judge of all the earth cannot but do right.
2. Surely, too, another emotion, which a glance towards the dreary doom of the ungodly can never fail to prompt, is that of ingratitude. And why am I not there? They gnaw their fire-tormented tongues in vain: and why am I not there? Did they sin? I have sinned. Did they curse God and die? I, too, have cursed God; and it was a marvel that I did not die.
3. Should there not also here be deep feelings of humility? Look to the hole of the pit whence thou was digged, and the rock whence God hath hewn thee I What those sinners were, such wert thou.
4. And there is a sensation which must thrill through every nerve, and the thought will sometimes blanch our cheeks with terror, lest we also should come thither. Metinks a glance of the eye towards the smoke of Gehenna would always prompt a holy jealousy over ones own heart, and a diligent watchfulness of ones own walk. What sayest thou to this, professor? Thou seest the smoke going up for ever: what if thou shouldst come there after all?
II. Look thou, Christian--if thou canst look--and see there THE EVIL OF SIN. Dost thou start? That is the true harvest of the sowing of iniquity. Come, sinner, I charge thee look at it. This is what sin brings forth; this is the full-grown child. Thou hast dandled it; thou hast kissed and fondled it; see what it comes to. Hell is but sin full-grown, that is all.
1. As the Christian, with downcast and blushing face looks to the place where their worm dieth not and their fire is not quenched, he is awe-struck with the justice of God. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and ye perish from the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.
2. Another lesson now comes to us, and one which I hope will be more pleasing, and affect some minds that may not be moved by what we have hitherto said. Looking at the destruction of the wicked, this reflection crosses our minds. We, His people, have been redeemed from destruction! What a price must that have been which redeemed us from such woe and rescued us from such a place of torment!
3. That fearful vision which beclouds my eyes and makes them feel heavy, at the same time presses upon me with a tremendous weight, while I mention another truth. Behold here the solemnity of the gospel ministry, the responsibility of those who listen to it, and the need there is for earnestness in handling divine things. Have I to deal with immortal souls? Then let me not trifle. My brethren in the faith, and sisters, too, with what earnestness should this invest you! Whitfield could say, When I think of these things, I wish I could stand upon the top of every hackney-coach in London, and preach to the passers by. We do not preach as if we meant it. I am afraid that we make infidels by our lethargy, and that you Christian people help to prevent the usefulness of the Word of God by the apparent indifference with which you treat eternal things.
III. I am weary with my picture; I am weary with looking into that thick darkness. Let me turn your eyes another way. WOULD YOU BE SAVED? See yonder little hill outside Jerusalems streets. God has become Man. He is bearing sin upon His shoulders. Wherefore do I picture this? Why, here is your salvation. You must have an interest in the sufferings of that Man, or you must suffer for yourself for ever. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow
Justice blended with mercy
I. THE TERRORS OF GODS JUSTICE TOWARDS THE WORLD OF THE UNGODLY.
II. THE TRIUMPH OF GODS MERCY TOWARDS THE CHILDREN OF HIS LOVE.
1. He originates the plan of salvation.
2. He overcomes the hindrances and obstacles to salvation which arise in our minds.
3. He will surely bring us to the rest and the refuge which He has prepared for us. (T. H. Leale.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_19:27-29
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Gen_19:27-29
THE RIGHTEOUS MAN’S RETROSPECT OF GOD’S GREAT JUDGMENTS
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The judgment which had long been threatened had now come. The righteous vengeance of God had overtaken the guilty inhabitants of these cities, and Abraham witnessed the scene of desolation when all was over (Gen_19:28). The feelings which rose within him at that awful sight are those which must fill the heart of every saint when he is permitted to behold God’s great judgments upon sinful men.
I. He regards them with solemn emotion. How terrible was the sight which met the eye of Abraham, when he rose early in the morning and looked towards Sodom! (Gen_19:27-28). The once fertile and smiling plains were converted into one vast furnace. The cities and their populations were involved in a ruin so complete that not a trace remained. The night before beheld them full of strong life and thoughtless dissipation; the day looked upon a scene of desolation, wherein all life had perished in the sharp agony of the fiery flood. Abraham could not regard without emotion so utter a destruction, and especially as he had taken such an interest in his people as to use all his power with God to save them from the threatened doom. He contemplated this terrible sight—
1. With profound awe. He had waited anxiously for the result of his pleading with God for these sinners. He may have indulged a hope that the Lord would relent at the last—that His pity would prevail, or dispose Him to find a remedy. Now he discovers that his prayers have not availed to stay judgment. This swiftness and certainty of the Divine retribution must have filled his soul with awe.
2. With some pain to personal feelings. Abraham was a tender and benevolent man, and he could not have witnessed the sight of so many human beings hurried into swift destruction without some shock to his better feelings. It is not always easy for a good man to sympathise with God in His terrible judgments upon sinners. Appearances, in the divine government, are often against our notions of justice. It is with difficulty that we can attain to that unquestioning loyalty which meekly submits, and acknowledges the righteousness of all God’s ways. It is said, by way of reproach, that the saints, satisfied and comfortable in their own security, look down with indifference upon the fate of sinners, and even enjoy their bliss the more by the sense of contrast. But, in fact, the real tendency of their hearts is otherwise. They bring themselves with difficulty to adore the unsearchable judgments of God. They naturally recoil from the spectacle of multitudes overwhelmed by pain and calamity. Abraham must, at this moment, have felt some yearnings of tenderness towards those who perished in this wholesale destruction. But if a man trusts wholly in God, such a sight must dissipate much false pity and false hope. The sure judgments of God will overtake the wicked, notwithstanding all our pity and hope.
II. He is satisfied with the righteousness of God as seen in them. Through all his history, since he was first called to a life of faith and obedience, Abraham was the friend of God, in His confidence, and yielding himself entirely to Him. He had the deep conviction that the Judge of all the earth would do right. The eye of his faith was still on God, and he was content. He knew that God would be clear when He is judged. All good men will, at length, feel satisfaction that the right is done.
III. He has some compensations in regard to them. There was some element of consolation for Abraham. The whole case was not so bad as it might have been. Some were delivered. The intercession of Abraham had availed, though not so far as he had once hoped. Lot and his family were saved by his prayers, and not for their own righteousness. “God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow.” All depended upon the power of this one righteous life. So we are saved, not for any good thing in ourselves, but by the intercession of Christ who is the elect of God. Christ prays for us when we forget to pray for ourselves, or, at best, do so but languidly. He rescues us when we are but half alive to our danger.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Gen_19:27. Even when we have poured out our full souls in prayer for others, we may well be anxious regarding the result.
Here, again, Abraham comes into view in the narrative. It was daybreak when Lot came to Zoar. And about the same time Abraham, who was in Mamre, near Hebron, went to the place where he had interceded with the Covenant angel for Sodom. This point, as we observed on the spot, commands a view of that region from the heights of Hebron.—(Jacobus.)
The history returns continually to Abraham to show us how God’s purpose of redemption through the Messiah was moving on towards accomplishment.
Abraham rose early the next morning, full of anxiety, and turned his eyes towards Sodom and Gomorrah, now only one molten sea of fire. He contemplated the melancholy scene before him, and felt with how fearful and solemn a gaze he should look upon the miseries and punishments of those who do not fear God. It was then Abraham began secretly to understand the mystery of God’s will and dealings with man; it was then the agonising suspicion of God’s justice, with which he had wrestled, found its solution. Lot was saved, the righteous were not destroyed with the wicked. The strange mystery of this hard, cruel, unintelligible world became plain; and the voice of his inmost heart told him, “All is right.” This, then, explains these two magnificent contradictions, which, taken separately, are unintelligible, but which together form the basis of our faith. “God is love,” but “our God is a consuming fire.”—(Robertson.)
Gen_19:28. It is not unlikely that frequent flashes of fire were intermixed with the clouds of smoke that rolled up from the scene of the devastation. The view must have been awful beyond description, and from its terrific features is no doubt made the Scriptural type of hell, which, in allusion to the fate of Sodom, is called “the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.” (Comp. also Deu_29:23; Isa_13:19; Jer_49:18; Jud_1:7; 2Pe_2:6.) The destruction of the spiritual Sodom (Revelation 18, 19) is moreover evidently described, especially where the bewailing spectators are represented as standing afar off and gazing at the smoke of her burning; a circumstance, doubtless, drawn from Abraham here standing at a distance and witnessing the doom of the devoted cities.—(Bush.)
Those may perish for whom many prayers have been offered.
Nothing else was now to be seen of that fair and fruitful plain. Sic transit gloria mundi. When we most greedily grasp earthly things we embrace nothing but smoke, which brings tears from our eyes, and soon vanisheth into nothing.—(Trapp.)
Gen_19:29. God bears the prayers of His people long in memory, though He may not answer them according to the extent or to the way of their desire.
One righteous man may be delivered by the intercessions of another. God helps us through human mediators in order that we might learn to trust in the Great Mediation.
God makes haste to relieve the anxieties of His servants. When Abraham saw the smoke of the country as the smoke of a furnace, it seemed that all was lost. But he is soon comforted by finding that some dear to him are safe.
The righteous are only saved by the much-prevailing power of the Great Intercessor.
This rescue is attributed to Elohim, and not to “Jehovah,” the Covenant God, because Lot was severed from His guidance and care on his separation from Abraham. The fact, however, is repeated here for the purpose of connecting it with an event in the life of Lot of great significance to the future history of Abraham’s seed.—(Keil and Delitzsch.)
The Eternal is here designated by the name Elohim, the Everlasting, because in the war of elements in which the cities were overwhelmed, the eternal potencies of His nature were signally displayed.—(Murphy.)
It is delightful to know that the world, sunk and fallen as it is, is not a neglected province of God’s dominions, that it is not abandoned of its Author, and left, like a sea-weed, to float at random over the dark and shoreless ocean of uncertainty and doubt. The Christian knows no such Deity as Chance and Fate. He knows that events occur in a manner too regular for the agency of chance, but in a manner not stated and regular enough to have blind Fatality for their Author. He knows that the very notion of Providence implies design, and in Divine Providence design must extend to everything. We must either exclude God’s Providence from having a share in the government of the world, or we must believe that His superintending agency extends to all events of human life. We may be sure that God governs the world in a way worthy of Him, and extends His care to all His creatures, and to all their actions. Hence the deliverance of individuals is not a lucky escape—a thing merely happening, which might have been otherwise. When the first-born of Egypt were destroyed the first-born of Israel were spared. When Jericho was levelled to the ground Rahab was delivered from the ruin. When God destroyed the cities of the plain, He saved Lot because He remembered Abraham. This man was saved by God’s set purpose and design. This text shows us—
I. The terrors of God’s justice towards the world of the ungodly. Two of the Apostles regard the fact here related as an example of the conduct of the Divine government towards sinners in every age—as a kind of type and pattern of God’s displeasure against sin and the certainty of its punishment. (Jud_1:7; 2Pe_2:6-9.) We are not to consider it merely as an historical incident in which we have no more interest than we have in the destruction of Carthage; but we are to regard it as designed to teach us the certain overthrow of all evil, and the wretched doom of the impenitent. The destruction of the Cities of the Plain is illustrative of the certain perdition of ungodly men. This was a judgment immediately inflicted by the hand of God, though natural agencies were employed. Fuller says, “If so it were, God’s hand was in it, directing and timing its operations, no less than if it were accomplished without the interference of any second cause.” This history illustrates the awful condition of those who have God for an enemy. His enemies are always in His power. The universe is His prison. Flight or escape must be alike impossible when His patience can hold out no longer, and He sends forth the summons for destruction. “There is no darkness or shadow of death where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.” In vain they boast of their riches, their grandeur, their long exemption from punishment. Nothing can defend them when the hour of judgment arrives. God can arm every element against them; the fire shall burn the cities of the plain, the waters shall drown the men of the old world, the air shall breed pestilence, the earth shall tremble and rend asunder beneath their feet, the heavens shall send forth the dreadful thunders and bolts of fire, and the stars in their courses shall fight against Sisera. “Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord.” And, “if these things be done in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” If these sparks of vengeance reach us here in the day of mercy, what must be the punishment prepared for the ungodly!
II. The triumph of God’s mercy towards the children of His love. St. Peter quotes the deliverance of Lot as an example of God’s ability to save the righteous, as well as of His determination to punish the wicked. God “delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked” (2Pe_2:7). This example is quoted to show that “the Lord knoweth how to deliver the ungodly out of temptation.” God’s regard towards the righteous man is also seen in His remembering Abraham. He remembered the intercession of that holy man, and knew that though Lot was not mentioned by name he was still the object of his earnest solicitude. Lot could not pray for himself, because he did not know of the approach of the calamity; but Abraham prayed for him, and that prayer availed much. How much more shall the intercession of Christ prevail for the subjects of His grace. “If any man sin, we have an Advocate,” etc. (1Jn_2:1). God allows mediation to prevail with Him. Thus Job was heard when he prayed for his friends, Moses when he made intercession for Israel, that they might not be blotted out of the book of life. Lot owed his preservation to God’s regard for Abraham. As Lot’s family was preserved for Lot’s sake, so Lot himself was preserved for Abraham’s sake. And in a far higher sense, a lost world is recovered and redeemed for Christ’s sake. The history of Lot’s escape illustrates our deliverance by the power of Divine grace, the whole of which must be ascribed entirely to God. He originates the plan of salvation. It was not Lot who sought the angels, but the angels who sought him. And “by grace ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Mercy framed the scheme of deliverance, revealed the Refuge hoped for, implanted the principle of grace in the heart: and mercy maintains the vigour of that principle in spite of all the opposition of earth and hell. God’s mercy gives the pardon, and the way to find it, and the hand to receive it, and the eye to search it, and the heart to desire it. In this instance, as in many more, God was found of them who sought Him not. He sent His angel to warn him of the unsuspected danger, to reveal the appointed place of refuge, to arouse him to immediate activity and solicitude. Also we learn that God overcomes the hindrances and obstacles to salvation which arise in our minds. The angels hastened Lot, and lingering nature requires the hand of special grace to save it from destruction. Even in the best men, how many obstacles are there to their own salvation! How much must be overcome before grace has it all its own way!—our pride, our indolence, our worldliness, our unbelief, our self-sufficiency, our tendency to procrastination and delay. God has various means of bringing men to Himself, of rousing them from their sloth, and of directing them in the path of safety and of life. Sickness, pain, disappointments, sorrows, losses, death, the bereavements of friends, the accidents of life,—what are these but so many voices saying, “Up, get ye out of this place?” What are they but so many angel hands laying hold on the lingerer, and setting him in the path of salvation? Let sinners consider that while they are lingering, time is hastening, eternity is advancing, judgment is approaching, evil habits are growing stronger, and the chances of rescue from danger are diminishing day by day. But when once we submit to God—to His plan of deliverance, He will surely bring us to the rest and the refuge which He has prepared for us. In the day of calamity He will remember us for good.
THE FOLLY OF SEEKING OUR OWN CHOICE.—Gen_19:30
Lot was bidden to go to the mountain, but requested that he might be allowed to seek refuge in Zoar. In his request he was graciously indulged—allowed to make the experiment which was to convince him of his folly in choosing for himself. We only land ourselves in greater difficulties when we act according to the suggestions of our own human wisdom in opposition to the Divine will. Of such conduct we observe,—
I. The root of it is unbelief. Lot could not trust God fully, and therefore the infinite charity of God stooped to his infirmity. Perfect faith takes God at His word without questioning or hesitation, without clipping His commands to our own notions of duty, or resolving to venture less than He requires. We must trust in God with our whole heart, and lean not to our own understanding. Our faith falls short in so far as we seek to modify the commands of duty by our own wilfulness. Imperfect obedience has its bitter root in unbelief. In the instance of Lot, we see the sad consequences of this timid and imperfect faith. Here we trace the source of the inconsistency and vacillation of his character. Our walk in the path of life and obedience is only steady and sure in proportion as our faith is clear and strong.
II. We are made bitterly to repent of it. “He feared to dwell in Zoar.” He was afraid that the destruction would overtake him even there. That spirit of unbelief which renders our obedience imperfect brings dread. We take alarm, for conscience tells us we have left some ground for fear. We have not been perfectly honest and open with God, and we justly expect that we shall smart for it. That perfect love alone which fully confides can cast out all fear. A dreadful penalty is visited upon unbelief when it leads to the total loss of faith, when a man is reduced to that state in which he can believe nothing. To commence following God’s command, and then to impair our obedience by our own foolish will, leads in the end to doubt and uncertainty—to that sense of insecurity in which we feel that nothing is sure and safe.
III. We may be compelled to accept God’s way at last. Lot finds refuge, at length, in the mountain, where he had been ordered to go at first. A merciful Providence brought him up to the full measures of his duty. He finds, in the end, that it is best to fall in with God’s plan. By a painful discipline we are often brought round to God’s way, and made to feel that what He chooses is best.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSE
The sight of a sea of waters accumulating in the vale, and gradually approaching the very borders of Zoar, was not a little calculated to inspire terror. How could he know where it would stop? at what point the Most High would say. “Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further.” If this were the real cause of his flight, his betaking himself to the mountain would be a very natural step. But the history shows that the rash counsels which good men adopt under the dictation of fleshly wisdom or passion are never attended with prosperous issues. They may appear to succeed in the outset, and their authors may for a time bless themselves in a fond conceit of the happiest results, but eventually the truth of the Divine declaration will be experienced, “Woe to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of Me.” (Isa_31:1.) But why did not Lot return to Abraham? Perhaps the most probable supposition is, that he was too proud to do this. He left him prosperous; but he must return, if he return at all, poor and degraded, and an outcast. This was too severe a trial for his spirit as a man, and he had rather incur new dangers than submit to it. Whatever were his reasons, he seems to have made a bad choice, and “forsaken his own mercies.”—(Bush.)
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.